2012 EXHIBITIONS
8 December 2012 – 27 January 2013
Cut With A
Kitchen Knife
Cut with a Kitchen Knife is a survey of the current manifestations of collage in contemporary art and more than a nod to the absurdist collages that arose from the brief and highly influential Dadaist movement of the early 20th Century. Less concerned with addressing the problems of the picture plane and more those of an existential nature, works on paper have been selected from nine contemporary artists who traverse the surface, relay absurdisms and reorganise obsessive collections - Christian Capurro, Simon Evans, Elizabeth Gower, Nathan Gray, Mandy Gunn, Deborah Kelly, Nick Mangan and Stuart Ringholt.
1 December 2012 - 26 January 2013
The Day After Yesterday
Kathielyn Job
Kathielyn Job is a Dubbo based artist who uses the fundamentals of painting to create a unique means of communication. The Day after Yesterday focuses on Job’s uncompromising use of colour and reveals the artist’s unbounded imagination. Her practice explores notions of energy and existence, focusing on the idea that human beings are intrinsically connected to the earth through matter. Job investigates the tension between energy and its containment in form, with these ideas surfacing on the canvas in imagined organic shapes rendered in brilliant colour.
30 November 2012 - 26 January 2013
Flight
The Western Plains Cultural Centre’s collections feature many objects and artworks that depict birds. These range from well known species such as magpies and finches through to flightless birds such as emus and cassowaries. Their depiction by artists and artisans expresses our fascination with these creatures that abundantly cover our Earth and are distant relatives of the dinosaurs.
Flight will feature objects from the Museum and Gallery collections, juxtaposing their depictions in artworks and as decorative motifs on utilitarian objects.
24 November 2012 - 26 January 2013
Waste To Art
The annual Waste to Art exhibition enables the community to create works of art using everyday waste as the medium. With every passing year, Waste to Art grows in popularity, and is a highlight on the calendar for many creative people in the community. The exhibition celebrates “thinking outside the box”, it shocks and surprises the viewer whilst commenting on our throw-away culture. Waste to Art is presented in collaboration with NetWaste and in 2012 is coordinated by Amy Griffiths.
30 November 2012 - 26 January 2013
Cloud
Michael Riley
Michael Riley (1960 - 2004) was born and raised in Dubbo, going on to become one of Australia’s most successful and highly respected contemporary artists. Cloud produced in 2000 is his best known and much-loved photographic series. An endless blue sky becomes the backdrop for objects relating to Aboriginal life and culture. Influenced by the artist’s early years in his hometown, the works are a meditation on belief, spirituality, childhood and memory.
3 November 2012 - 26 January 2013
The Folly
Arlo Mountford
Arlo Mountford’s The Folly was acquired by Dubbo Regional Gallery in 2009 with funds raised by the Friends of the WPCC. In the three channel digital animation, Mountford has re-imagined three paintings by Flemish painter Pieter Breughel the Elder, “Hunters in the Snow” (1565), “The Corn Harvest” (1565) and “The Fall of Icarus” (1558) and has infiltrated these timeless pastoral scenes with new life.
20 October - 2 December 2012
2012 Archibald Prize
The Archibald Prize is an annual exhibition eagerly anticipated by artists and audiences alike. It never ceases to create lively debate in both the arts community and wider public. First awarded in 1921, the Archibald Prize is one of Australia's oldest and most prestigious art prizes. It is awarded to the best portrait painting, preferentially of a man or woman distinguished in art, letters, science or politics. The Archibald Prize is an Art Gallery of NSW exhibition toured by Museums and Galleries NSW.
13 October - 25 November 2012
Harvest:
Six years of the
Regional Art Space
The Regional Art Space (RAS) has become one the most dynamic and popular exhibition spaces in the WPCC. Set up as a means to profile the work of emerging regionally-based artists, the program has grown to become an important professional development opportunity. Artists's proposals are assessed and awarded a 12-month period to realise their show, working with the WPCC curatorial team in all aspects of exhibition development and delivery.
This exhibition looks back over the six years of the program, revisiting some of the artists and finding out where they are now, what the RAS means to them and how it affected their career.
8 October - 25 November 2012
2012 Western College
Art Prize
The second annual Western College Art Prize will this year be held at the WPCC. This acquisitive art prize is open to residents in the Dubbo area and features a general award, an Indigenous prize and a student prize. The theme this year is Passion and selected artists will be judged on their responses to this theme. The Western College Art Prize was established with the intention of exhibition emerging artists from the regio. Pictured is the winner of the inaugural Western College Art Prize, Kathielyn Job's 2011 painting Integrity, reflection and emulation
29 September - 18 November 2012
Man of the Series:
Frank Nowlan
Frank Nowlan came to art relatively late in life, when he retired after 40 years of teaching. Art was something of which he always dreamed. Frank called himself a 'Sunday painter' and friends would drop in at his house ad comment on the 'stick men' in his paintings. Throughout the years, Nowlan's work has developed, becoming enriched with multi-layered concepts, political themes and hidden meanings. Man of the Series: Frank Nowlan is a Hawkesbury Regional Gallery touring exhibition, curated by Peter Fay
7 September - 14 October 2012
Odditoreum
This wonderfully innovative and playful exhibition is a unique concept based upon the successful collaboration between the Powerhouse Museum and Oscar winning children's book author Shaun Tan. Tan's brief was to concoct fantastical stories behind 11 especially unusual Museum objects, while the rest is left up to the visitor in this delightful exhibition for children of all ages.
7 September - 14 October 2012
Odditoreum
This wonderfully innovative and playful exhibition is a unique concept based upon the successful collaboration between the Powerhouse Museum and Oscar winning children's book author Shaun Tan. Tan's brief was to concoct fantastical stories behind 11 especially unusual Museum objects, while the rest is left up to the visitor in this delightful exhibition for children of all ages.
25 August - 7 October 2012
Wilcannia: Stories from My Homeland
Eddy Harris
Eddy Harris is a Barkandji man, born and raised in Wilcannia, the traditional homelands of the Barkandji people. For many years Harris has learned kinship practices from his elders and has been crafting these stories into unique and dynamic forms. Harris works in a multi-disciplinary fashion, utilising painting, printmaking, ceramics, carving and woodwork. Through his works, Harris aims to educate audiences about Barkandji culture and foster a greater understanding of the way kinship works within tribal culture. A Regional Art Space Exhibition.
25 August - 28 October 2012
The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeois Robot 2:
Dr Wade Marynowsky
With his work, The discreet Charm of the Bourgeois Robot 2, Dr Wade Marynowsky pays homage to Surrealist filmmaker Luis Bunuel's 1972 film, The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie. Marynowsky works in a number of artistic mediums including performance, video, roboti, immersive or interactive installation. In this interactive work he explores the human-like performance of robots who mimic human characteristics without ever achieving humanity. Marynowksy animates his robots with humour, describing The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeois Robot 2 as the 'decadent disco diva of doom.'
18 August - 23 September 2012
ARTEXPRESS
ARTEXPRESS is the annual exhibition of exemplary artworks created by students sitting the 2011 Higher School Certificate. This year the WPCC has teamed up with ARTEXPRESS Coordinator Susanne Jones to create an exclusive collection that examines the very best of each expressive art form. Each of the 16 works on exhibition achieved high grades in its category. ARTEXPRESS is a joint venture of the Board of Studies New South Wales and the NSW Departments of Education and Communities, managed by the Department's Arts Unit
21 July - 28 October 2012
Built for the Bush:
Green Architecture for Rural Australia
Built for the Bush explores some of the energy-efficient strategies that were practised in traditional rural building techniques and their reappearance in the contemporary sustainable architecture. Discover how early builders, using mud, timber and corrugated iron, built some of the most energy efficient buildings possible. Built for the Bush is a touring exhibition from the Historic Houses Trust.
7 July - 19 August 2012
A Second Glance:
Matthew Begg
Matthew Begg is a Dubbo-based artist who has created a body of work that keenly observes the urban landscapes of Dubbo and its surrounds. His paintings offer both the joys of familiarity as well as a note of intrigue; what stories are hidden within the deserted streets and darkened windows? Begg employs a realist style to depict the instantly recognisable streetscapes, but at the same time suggests the inner narratives of these urban facades. Secrets, untold stories and long forgotten histories linger within his works. This is an exhibition that reminds us to take a moment to relish our surroundings, and look twice, no matter how familiar these building appear to be. A Regional Art Space Exhibition.
7 July - 19 August 2012
Lake George
(After Mark Rothko):
John Conomos
John Conomos' video work Lake George (After Mark Rothko) refers to the experience common to so many car travellers in Australia, that of driving past Lake George and day-dreaming about its elusive qualities. Conomos wondered, "What was this strange lake that could appear and disappear?" For Conomos, Lake George became a metaphor for creativity; a virtual place to explore artistic and existential ideas. Lake George (After Mark Rothko) is the artist;s attempt to capture the landscape and render Lake George as an exploration of video as a form of electronic painting.
7 30 June - 12 August 2012
iVisualise
A selection of artworks made by students from across the Greater Western Region,
iVisualise showcases and encourages the talents, passions and concerns of the regions youth. Covering those just entering primary school to those about to leave, the exhibition is a wide ranging exploration of growing up in the west. Presented in partnership with NSW Department of Education and Communities.
30 June - 2 September 2012
Oculi: Terra Australis Incognita
A Photographic Survey
Terra Australis Incognita is a vision of Australia that is empathic, humourous, interpretative, defiant, questioning and critical. Oculi, a collective of ten Australian photographers who have worked together for twelve years, presents a selection of work that is an unflinching vision of life in contemporary Australia. Oculi is curated by Sandy Edwards and is a touring exhibition from Manly Art Gallery and Museum.
30 June - 12 August 2012
Djalkiri: We are standing on their names
Blue Mud Bay
This exquisite series of prints is the culmination of a vibrant and intensive cross-cultural exchange between five highly respected Yithuwa Madarrpa artists and four renowned artists from across Australia. The 23 selected exhibition works resulting from this exchange capture essential aspects of country at Blue Mud Bay in eastern Arnhem Land, recognised as one of the most pristine and culturally signicant places in Australia. This exhibition is a National Touring Exhibition from Artback NT: Arts Development and Touring and has been curated by Angus Cameron of Nomad Art Productions.
7 April - 15 July 2012
Dhaga Ngiyanhi Ngan.Girra (Where We All Meet)
Lynette Riley & Diane Riley-McNaboe
Dhaga Ngiyanhi Ngan.Girra (Where We All Meet) uses Dubbo and in particular the site of the WPCC, a former swamp, as a historical meeting point for local Dubbo-ga (Aboriginal clans). The exhibition presents significant aspects of Wiradjuri culture through the use of traditional materials and techniques - body painting, weaving, pokerwork, language as well as traditional materials - possum skins native grasses, feathers and kangaroo hides. Dhaga Ngiyanhi Ngan.Girra is curated by Kent Buchanan, Caroline Edwards, Lynette Riley and Diane Riley-McNaboe.
4 February - 2 April 2012
League of Legends:
100 Years of Rugby League in Australia
An exhibition celebrating the history of Rugby League, League of Legends: 100 years of Rugby League in Australia captures some of the most iconic moments of the sport's history. Starting as a breakaway football competition established in defiance of the New South Wales Rugby Union, league has grown to become a skillful fast moving game that has the passionate support of its fans. The photographs in the exhibition are a memorable history of a port that has helped define Australian culture. A travelling exhibition developed and presented by the National Museum of Australia.
29 October 2011 - 26 January 2012
Strike a Pose
with Lee Lin Chin
Strike a Pose...with Lee Lin Chin explores the world of Australian style up to 40 years ago, when trendsetters created a fashion revolution with a mix of mini skirts, space-aged garments and granny dresses. With fashion icon and SBS World News presenter Lee Lin Chin as guest curator, the exhibition celebrates the emerging local fashion industry of the time, along with its personalities, trends and influences. Posed fashion shots sit alongside the exuberance of street culture, catpuring the essence of a period when cultural change ruled. Strike a Pose...with Lee Lin Chin
11 May - 24 June 2012
Joseph McGlennon:
Strange Voyage
A life in design and advertising have given photographer Joseph McGlennon an eye for the dramatic. His kangaroo studies are a continuation of his fascination with Cook's return to England in 1771, carrying a vast number of Australian specimens of plants and animals previously unknown to Europeans, the strangest of which was a kangaroo. His work seeks to locate the proud but (to European eyes) exotic animal with an unfamiliar (to Australian eyes) and equally exotic European landscape.
24 March - 6 May 2012
Good Powerful Strong
Good Strong Powerful will showcase selected works from three innovative Northern Territory art studios, working with Indigenous artists with disability, from the tropical Top End to the desert heart of Central Australia. The exhibition contains extraordinary works by eleven established and emerging Indigenous whose work offers audiences a unique, quirky and highly original view of their surroundings. A touring exhibition from Artback NT: Arts Development and Touring in conjunction with the Australia Council for the Arts and Northern Territory Government Department of Natural Resources, Environment, the Arts and Sport.
26 November 2011 - 18 March 2012
Symbols of Australia
What symbolises Australian identity? For some it's the kangaroo, for others it is natural wonders like Uluru or man-made icons like the Sydney Harbour Bridge. The exhibition explores the diverse range of the national symbols that define and represent Australia's national identity. Through the use of objects and multimedia Symbols of Australia presents stories surrounding ten symbolic themes: Kangaroo, Wattle, The Flag, Boomerang, Uluru, Sydney Harbour Bridge, The Billy, Vegemite, Holden and The Southern Cross. A travelling exhibition developed and presented by the National Museum of Australia.
24 March - 24 June 2012
Menagerie: Contemporary Indigenous Sculpture
Menagerie: Contemporary Indigenous Sculpture is a unique and groundbreaking exhibition that exposes the richness and breadth of contemporary Indigenous sculpture in Australia. It includes both well-known and emerging artists, who have each produced outstanding sculptural works depicting a variety of animals. Through these works the artists share with us their cultural knowledge, expressions of identity and connections to country. Menagerie has been developed through an unusual and mutually rewarding collaboration between Object: Australian Centre for Craft and Design and the Australian Museum.
19 November 2011 - 18 March 2012
Space Invaders: Australian. Street. Stencils. Posters. Paste Ups. Zines. Stickers.
In the first exhibition of its kind in Australia, Space Invaders delves into the complex, compelling and challenging side of the contemporary Australian street art scene. This exhibition looks specifically at 'stencilling', poster-making and street press such as stickers and comics and documents the transition from the street to the gallery walls. Space Invaders explores the connections with the traditions of graffiti and Australian political print and poster making. This exhibition is supported by the Contemporary Touring Initiative through Visions of Australia, an Australian Government program, and the Visual Arts and Craft Strategy, an initiative of the Australian Government and state and territory governments. The Cultural Partners are NewActon Nishi and Molonglo Group. This exhibition is also supposrted by Special Media Partner triple j.